Definition: Refillable bottles

Category: Environment

Packaging, which has been conceived and designed to accomplish within its life cycle a minimum number of trips or rotations, is refilled or used for the same purpose for which it was conceived, with or without the support of auxiliary products present on the market enabling the packaging to be refilled; such reused packaging will become packaging waste when no longer subject to reuse.
For the purpose of the Joint OECD/Eurostat Questionnaire, information on refillable bottles refers to the amount (weight in tonnes) of refillable bottles 'in circulation'. When refillable bottles turn into waste (at the end of their life cycle) they should be counted as 'normal' packaging waste.